Sunday, August 14, 2011

A Simply Lazy Sunday Roast And Another One; The Greedy Sunday Roast

Sunday is a great day, to catch up with some friends, grab a couple of chilled beers and chat up over lunch. Yet, who wants to cook an extravagant meal, when you just want to sit back, eat and be lazy? For those lazy days and many more, when you want to eat good, home cooked food with minimum effort. Simply roast a chicken like I did this weekend. Prepare the chicken on Saturday night right before you go to bed. The prep won’t take you more than five minutes, so prep the chicken and keep it overnight for the flavours to soak in. Blow of some steam, sit back and have a delicious homemade roast on Sunday.

Simply Lazy Sunday Roast – Serves 4

Ingredients

Chicken, Whole with the Skin 1 to 1.5 kg Chicken (Use a Small Chicken)

Salt 3 times the regular amount of salt you use. I used a little over 3 teaspoon for 1kg Chicken

If you are letting it stand for less than three hours make gashes on the drumstick, thigh and breast with the tip of a sharp knife. This helps the flavours soak in better. Baste more frequently to prevent the juices from drying out.

Rub in the Caroms seeds, minced garlic on the roast.

Rub the freshly ground black pepper on the skin to form like a crust on top.

Tip: Do not use Black Pepper powder packs from the store, these are fine and tend to char easily over the roast.

Sprinkle a little olive oil and top it by spreading a tablespoon of butter.

Place the Roast in a baking or oven-proof dish. I did not have a roasting dish, so I used a round aluminium cake tin to place my chicken to reserve the dripping and juices from the chicken to baste it later on. The chicken should fit in the dish to hold it in shape.

Let it stand for three hours or just rub the herbs on Saturday night and just it stand overnight like I do.

Pop the chicken to roast in the oven at 180 degree Celsius for 35 for 40 minutes.

Baste it once by brushing it with its drippings after about twenty minutes of popping it into the oven.

At the same time, pop in the potato, carrot and peas on the side, to roast with the chicken.

Pull the chicken out after forty minutes, Cut up the joints and serve them with the potatoes, carrot, peas and the juices on the side.

A Greedy Sunday Roast – Serves 4

Ingredients

Chicken, Whole with the Skin 1 to 1.5 kg Chicken (Use a Small Chicken)

Salt 3 times the regular amount of salt you use. I used a little over 3 teaspoon for 1kg Chicken

Red Chilli Flakes 1 teaspoon

Ginger, peeled and grated 3 teaspoons (fresh)

Honey 4 tablespoons

Olive Oil 3 tablespoons

Lemon, juice 1

Potato 2 large, halved

Peas ½ cup

Carrot 1, halved

Method:

Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius.

Wash and clean the chicken. Leave the skin on.

Rub lots of salt on the skin.

If you are letting it stand for less than three hours make gashes on the drumstick, thigh and breast with the tip of a sharp knife. This helps the flavours soak in better. Baste more frequently to prevent the juices from drying out.

Rub in the red chilli flakes and grated ginger on the roast.

Rub the honey on the skin.

Sprinkle a little olive oil.

Place the Roast in a baking or oven-proof dish. I did not have a roasting dish, so I used a round aluminium cake tin to place my chicken to reserve the dripping and juices from the chicken to baste it later on. The chicken should fit in the dish to hold it in shape.

Let it stand for three hours or just rub the herbs on Saturday night and just it stand overnight like I do.

Pop the chicken to roast in the oven at 180 degree Celsius for 35 for 40 minutes.

Baste it once by brushing it with its drippings after about twenty minutes of popping it into the oven.

At the same time, pop in the potato, carrot and peas on the side, to roast with the chicken.

Pull the chicken out after forty minutes and squeeze lemon juice on top of it.

Cut up the joints and serve them with the potatoes, carrot, peas and the juices on the side.